NewPage Mills In Wisconsin Rapids, Stevens Point Acquired By Memphis Company

Paper mills in Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens Point are under new ownership after the Verso Corp. of Memphis, Tennessee, acquired NewPage Holdings Inc. in a deal finalized on Wednesday.

The acquisition will affect about 240 workers at the Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids mills, and at NewPage’s research facility in Biron. The deal is valued at about $1.4 billion, and gives Verso about 5,800 employees in six states.

Verso President and CEO David Paterson said in a news release that “the combination of Verso and NewPage creates a stronger, more stable company with an effective strategy to weather industry headwinds and reduce operating costs.”

In a related transaction, NewPage’s mill in Biron and another in Rumford, Maine, are being sold to Catalyst Paper Corp. of Canada, following a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department.